98 BEPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 



retired, also associate in zoology, studied the raccoons of the Mexican 

 boundary surve}^, of which he was the chief zoologist; and Mr. Ed- 

 mund Heller continued his work on the mammals of the Smithsonian 

 African Expedition, of which he was one of the naturalists. 



The members of the Biological Survey of the Department of Agri- 

 culture had at all times full access to the collections, which were also 

 consulted by Dr. J. A. Allen, Dr. W. K. Gregory, and Mr. A. C, 

 Andrews, of the American Museum of Natural History: Mr. ^Y. H. 

 Osgood, of the Field Museum of Natural History; Dr. O. P. Hay, 

 of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; Dr. J. C. Merriam, of 

 the University of California; Dr. D. G. Elliot, of New York; Dr. 

 E. "W. Shufeldt, of Washington; and Mr. Childs Frick, of Bryn 

 Mawr, Pa. Specimens were lent for study to Dr. G. M. Allen, of the 

 Museum of Comparative Zoology ; Dr. J. A. Allen ; Mr. H. B. Bailey, 

 of Newport News, Va. ; Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, of the University of 

 Colorado; Mr. Childs Frick; Prof. George S. Huntington, of the 

 College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York; Dr. J. C. Mer- 

 riam ; and Mr. Witmer Stone, of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 

 Philadelphia. 



Birds. — The birds received from Mr. Raven in east Borneo com- 

 prised 701 skins, besides a few skeletons, eggs, and nests. A generous 

 gift from Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, United States Army, retired, con- 

 sisted of his private collection of 1,577 skins, 780 eggs, and 48 skele- 

 tons. In addition to a large number of foreign species, chiefly from 

 England and Denmark, this donation contains a selected series from 

 Dr. Mearns' early collecting, including many specimens from the 

 Fort Verde region, Ariz., and examples of several exceedingly rare 

 forms, as, for instance, two passenger pigeons, now extinct in the 

 wild state, and two Carolina parrakeets and one ivory-billed wood- 

 pecker, both of which are nearing extinction. Another welcome ac- 

 cession, presented by Mr. Otto Holstein, was composed of 25 bird 

 skins from Ecuador, among them being two skins of the spine-tail 

 humming bird, Lejjtasthenura andicola^ and a species of Calospiza., 

 new to the Museum. To facilitate the researches of Dr. Mearns on 

 the east African birds from the two expeditions of which he was a 

 member, 15 skins of birds from Africa, including a species of 

 Myloceyx^ a genus not hitherto represented in the collection, were 

 purchased. 



The rearrangement of the reserve series of bird skins was con- 

 tinued more actively than during the previous year owing to in- 

 creased facilities, with the result of advancing the revision to the 

 extent of 20 quarter-unit and 53 half-unit cases. This brings the 

 new installation, commencing with the passeres, down nearly to the 

 end of the birds of prey. Case and drawer labels were prepared for 

 these 73 cases and temporary labels for the remainder of the series, 



